Closure means for cylinders



' M y 2 1945- e. v. WOODLING CLOSURE MEANS FOR CYLINDERS Filed April 1, 1944 INVENTOR.

latented May 22, 1945 UNITED/ STATES PATENT OFFICE CLOSURE MEANS FOR CYLINDERS George V. Woodling, Rocky River; Ohio Application April 1, 1944, Serial No. 529,084

16 Claims.

My invention relates in general to closure means and more particularly to closure means for cylinders adapted to close an open end of a cylinder.

My invention will be described in connection with a cylinder construction, and more particularly to the fastening of the cylinder head to the end portion of the cylinder barrel or member.

An object of my invention is the provision of closure means which may be fastened to the open end of a cylinder without the screws or threaded elements being subjected to the force incident to the pressure within the cylinde Another object of my inventionis the provision of connecting a cylinder head to the end portion of a cylinder by means of keeper elements which interlock the cylinder head to the end portion of the cylinder barrel.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a seal between the cylinder head and the cylinder barrel, which seal is separate from the means for holding the cylinder head to the end portion of the cylinder barrel.

Another object of my invention is the provision whereby the cylinder head may be readily connected or disconnected from the end of the cylinder barrel.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of my invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 represents a fragmentary and longitudinal cross-sectional view of a cylinder construction embodying the features of my invention;

Figure 2 is a view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a keeper element embodying the features of my invention and being adapted to hold the cylinder head to the end portion of the cylinder barrel;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary and cross-sectional view of a cylinder construction embodying a modified form of my invention; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary and cross-sectional view embodying a still further modified form of my invention.

With reference to the drawing, the cylinder member or 'bcdyis indicated by the reference character I0 and may be utilized inconnection with pneumatic, fluid or hydraulic machinery of all kinds, or for any other purpose. Reciprocally mounted within the cylinder I0 is a piston I4. The end portion l3 of the cylinder illustrated in the drawing is provided with an open end which is closed by the cylinder head ll having a port l5 adapted to be connected to any suitable source of fluid connection.

As shown, the cylinder head I I is provided with a telescopic portion l2 which is arranged to fit over the end portion 13 of the cylinder. The telescopic portion [2 is provided with an annular groove l9 into which is mounted a seal to comprising rubber-like material I1 and side nonextrusion split rings l8. The rubber-like material l'l may be relatively soft and may comprise an annular ring which is prevented when subjected to high fluid pressures from extruding into the clearance between the end portion [3 of the cylinder and the telescopic portion l2 by the nonextrusion split rings Ill. The split between the ends of the non-extrusion split ring are circumferentially displaced 'with respect to each other so that the soft rubber-like material I! cannot escape therethrough. The rubber-like material I1 presses the non-extrusion split rings l8 firmly and radially against the outside stepped surface of the end portion l3 of the cylinder, and the stepped shoulder against which the non-extrusion rings press re-inforces the non-extrusion rings so that they may withstand a heavy pressure. The non-extrusion rings may be made of metal or composition material. The combination of the rubber-like material I! and the non-extrusion split rings I8 is such that the greater the pressure Within the cylinder the greater becomes the sealing action.

The telescopic portion 12 of the head H is anchored to the end portion l3 of the cylinder by a plurality of keeper elements 21. In the present illustration, I show three keeper elements 2! but it is to be understood that any number of keeper elements may be conveniently employed. Around the external surface of the end portion [3 of the cylinder, I provide three fiat slots or chordal recesses 26 cut across the outer surface of the cylinder to receive respectively the keeper elements 21. The keeper elements 2'! fit snugly within the flat slots 26 and the side shoulders thereof constrain them against longitudinal movement within the flat slots 26. The telescopic portion I2 is provided with an internal annular groove 24 to receive the inserted end of the keeper elements 21. As shown in Figure 1 the righthand side of the internal'annular groove 24 is provided with a sloping shoulder surface 25 against which an abutting surface 29 of the keeper elements engages for holding the telescopic portion l2 to the end portion l3 of the cylinder. The left-hand end of the keeper elements 21 is provided with an abutting surface 24 which eng es the external shoulder 32 of the flat slots or recesses 23. Accordingly, the abutting surfaces 28 and 23 of the keeper elements engage, respectively, the shoulder 32 of the flat slots 28 and the shoulder 25 of the telescopic portion and operate to secure or interlock the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder.

As shown in Figure 2, the under side shoulder 25 is cut away to provide a cut away portion 33 through which the keeper elements 21 may be inserted in the slots. In mounting the cylinder head II to the cylinder ID the telescopic portion l2 with the seal it therein is pushed over the end portion l3 of the cylinder. The cut-away portion 33 is aligned with one of the flat slots 23, after which a keeper element 21 is inserted therein. The cylinder head H is then turned until the cut-away portion 30 becomes registered with a second flat slot 28, after which a second keeper-element is inserted therein. The cylinder head II is then turned still further around until the cut-away portion 30 registers with the third flat slot 26 after which the third keeper element 21 is inserted therein. The cylinder head then is turned substantially 60 until the cut-away portion 30 is disposed substantially intermediate two of the flat slots 28, such as shown in Figure 2. As illustrated in Figure 1, the keeper elements 21 each have a set screw 3| which when turned in provides for pressing the sloping shoulder 25 of the head H against the sloping abutting surface 28 of the keeper elements 21, with the result that the keeper elements. 21 are radially constrained to fit firmly into the flat slots 26. The set screws 3! also hold the head from turning on the cylinder when they are once set. It is to be understood that the flat slots 26 may be replaced by an annular groove to receive the keeper elements 21, but such an annular groove would tend to weaken the cylinder wall. With the flat slots 26, the cylinder barrel is weakened very little, if any, because the flat slots are supported by the keeper elements so that by reason of the inwardly directed radial pressure of the keeper elements, there is substantially no weakening of the cylinder barrel whatsoever. The keeper elements 21 are so designed with respect to the flat slots 26 that they snugly set therein with substantially complementary engaging surfaces. The keeper elements may be provided with a slight clearance at the bottom of the round corners or shoulders so that when the keeper elements are pressed radially into the flat slots, there is a snug fit between the side edges of the keeper elements and side shoulders of the slots to prevent any longitudinal movement between the keeper elements and the cylinder barrel Ill.

The cylinder head II in accordance with the present invention, may be assembled or dis-assembled with merely the aid of a screw driver and requires no wrenches. In dismantling the head II from the cylinder, the set screws are first unloosened and the cut-away portion 30 is respectively aligned with the keeper elements whereby each. of the keeper elements may be removed outwardly through the cut-away portion 30, after which the head may be removed from the cylinder.

In Figure 4, I show a nfodified form of the invention, which comprises a head 33 having an annular keeper groove 34 for receiving three keeper elements 35. In this invention, the keeper elements 35 are slid over the end of the cylinder into the flat slots or recesses 36. When slid as'z sse the keeper elements 3! over the end of the cylinder, they are radially pushed outwardly whereby the sloping shoulders 31 of the head 33 fits into the valley of the U-shaped portion of the keeper elements. In this sliding position, the left-hand radially extendin'gportion of the keeper elements 33 project in the annular keeper groove 34, until the keeper elements 35 reach the flat slots 2', whereupon the keeper elements slide into the flat slots. Then the'set screws 4| are turned in to force the head 33 to the left as shown in Figure 4, until the sloping shoulder 31 rides against the abutting surface 38 of the keeper elements. The wedging action produced by the surfaces 31 and 34 forces the keeper elements 35 radially into the flat slots 36. The abutting surface 39 of the keeper elements press against the external shoulder 40 of the flat slots 38 and holds the head 33 onto the end of the cylinder III in opposition to the fluid pressure.

The seal I8 shown in Figure 4 is substantially the same as that shown in Figure 1, except that non-extrusion rings 18 are provided on each side of the soft rubber-like material I1. As fluid pressure in the cylinder is applied to the left-hand side of the rubber-like material I! it compresses the rubber and forces the non-extrusion rings is on the right-hand side of the seal flrmly against the outer surface of the cylinder and prevents the rubber-like material from extruding into the clearance between the outer surface of the cylinder l0 and the inner surface of the' telescopic portion i 2 of the head 33.

In Figure 5 I show another form of the invention and here the head 43 is provided with an annular keeper groove 44 into which are mounted keeper elements 45 that fit into the fiat slots 46. In this invention, the telescopic portion 12 of the head 43' is provided with a cut-away portion 30 substantially the same as that shown in Figure 2 of the drawing, and the keeper elements 45 are inserted through the cut-away portion 30 in the same manner as that described with reference to the insertion of the keeper elements 21 in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing. The cap screws iii are employed to draw the sloping shoulder 41 of the head against the abutting surface 48 of the keeper elements 45 and thereby radially press the keeper elements 45 into the flat slot 46. The abutting surface 49 of the keeper elements engages the external shoulder 50 of the flat slots 46 and holds the head against longitudinal movement upon the cylinder It) in opposition to the pressure in the cylinder. The seal IS in Figure 5 is substantially the same as that shown in Figure 1.

The head 43 may be removed by the reverse set of operations to that employed to fasten the same to the cylinder III, in that the cap screws 5i are first removed and then the cut-away portion 30 in the head is aligned with the keeper elements 45 in consecutive order whereby the keeper elements 45 are removed through the cutaway portion, after which the head 43 may be readily removed from the end of the cylinder Hi.

It is noted throughout all of the embodiments of my invention that the set screw does not have to withstand any of the pressure within the cylinder.

Although I have described my invention with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a cylinder construction having a cylinder member with an end portion having an open end, the improvement of closure means for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having internal shoulder means, said end portion of the cylinder having external shoulder means, and keeper element means having first and second abutting surfaces respectively engaging the said shoulder means to secure the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder, said keeper element means comprising a plurality of individual elements annularly spaced around the cylinder member, and means for securing said elements in said annularly spaced relation.

2. In a cylinder construction having a. cylinder member with an end portion having an open end, the improvement of closure means for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having internal shoulder means, said end portion of the cylinder having external shoulder means, and keeper element means having first and second abutting surfaces respectively engaging the said shoulder means to secure the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder, said internal shoulder means and said first abutting surface being inclined impress the keeper element means radially against the end portion of the cylinder, said keeper element means comprising a plurality of individual elements annularly spaced around the cylinder member, and means for securing said elements in said annularly spaced relation.

3. In a cylinder construction having a cylinder member with an end portion having an open end, the improvement of closure means for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said tion of the cylinder, said internal shoulder means and said first abutting surface being inclined to press the keeper element means radially against the end portion of the cylinder, and means to constrain the first abutting surface and the internal shoulder means against each other.

4. In a cylinder construction having a cylinder member with an end portion having an open end, the improvement ofclosure means for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having internal shoulder means, said end portion of the cylinder having external shoulder means, and keeper element means having first and second abutting surfacesrespectively engaging the said shoulder means to secure the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder, and seal means between the telescopic portion and the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having an internal annular groove to receive said seal means, said groove being separated from the keeper element means and having a side wall against which the seal means engages.

5. In a cylinder construction having a cylinder memberwith an end portion having an open end, the improvement of closure means 'for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having an internal annular groove provided with an internal shoulder, said end portion of the cylinder having a plurality of external recesses each having an external shoulder, and a keeper element for fitting in each of the recesses, said keeper elements each having a first abutting surface for engaging the internal shoulder and a second abutting surface for engaging the shoulder of the recess to secure the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder.

'6. In a cylinder construction having a cylinder member with an end portion having an open end, the improvement of closure means for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having an internal annular groove provided with an internal shoulder, said end portion of the cylinder having a plurality of external recesses each having an external shoulder, and a keeper element for fitting in each of the recesses, said keeper elements each having a first abutting surface for engaging the internal shoulder and a second abutting surface for engaging the shoulder of the recess to secure the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder, said internal shoulder having a portion removed whereby the keeper elements may be inserted in the internal annular groove.

'7. In a cylinder construction having a cyl nder member with an end portion having an open end, the improvement of closure means for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic port'on arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having an internal annular groove provided with an internal shoulder, said end portion of the cylinder having a plurality of external recesses each having an external shoulder, and a keeper element for fitting in each of the recesses, said keeper elements each having a first abutting surface for engaging the internal shoulder and a second abutting surface for enaging the shoulder of the recess to secure the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder, said internal shoulder and said first abutting surface being inclined to press the keeper elements radially into the recesses.

8. In a cyl nder construction having a cylinder member with an end portion having an open end. the improvement of closure means for clos ing the said open end. said improvement comprising a h ad w th a telescop c portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder. sa d telescopic portion having an internal annu a groove provided with an internal shoulder. said end portion of the cylinder hav-ng a plurality of external recesses each having an external shoulder, and a keeper element for fitt ng in each of the recesses, said keeper elements each having a first abutting surface for engaging the internal shoulder and a second abutting surface for engaging the shoulder of the recess to secure the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder, said internal shoulder and said first abutting surface being inclined to press the keeper ing the telescopic portion to constrain elements radially into the recesses, and screw means in .each of the keeper elements for engagthe first abutting surface and the internal shoulder against each other. v

9. In a cylinder construction having a cylinder member with an end portion having an open end, the improvement of closure means for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having an internal annular groove provided with an internal shoulder, said end portion of the cylinder having a plurality of external recesses each having an external shoulder, and a keeper element for fitting in each of the recesses, said keeper elements each having a first abutting surface for engaging the internal shoulder and a second abutting surface for engaging the shoulder of the recess to secure the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder, and seal means between the telescopic portion and the end portion ofthe cylinder.

10. In a cylinder construction having a cylinder member with an end portion having an open end, the improvement of closure means for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having an internal annular groove provided with an internal shoulder, said end p rti n of the ylinder having a plurality of external recesses each having an external shoulder, and a keeper element for fitting in each of the recesses, said keeper elements each having a first abutting surface for engaging the internal shoulder and a second abutting surface for engaging the shoulder of the recess to secure the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder, and seal means between the telescopic portion and the end portion of the cylinder, said seal including non-extrusion means and relatively soft material pressing against the said non-extrusion means, said end portion of the cylinder having a stepped shoulder against which the non-extrusion means presses.

11. A seal for blocking the clearance between two annular telescopically fitting parts, one of said parts having an annular groove with a side wall and the other of said parts having a side shoulder substantially registering with the said side wall, non-extrusion means pressing against the said side wall and the side shoulder to block said clearance, and relatively soft material in the groove and pressing against the non-extrusion means.

12. In a cylinder construction having a cylinder member with an end portion having an open end, the improvement of closure means for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having an internal annular groove provided with an internal shoulder means, said end portion of the cylinder having external shoulder means, keeper element means having first and second abutting surfaces respectively engaging the said shoulder means to secure the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder, said keeper element means disposed in the groove and comprising a plurality of individual elements annularly spaced around the cylinder member, and means for securing said elements in said nularly spaced relation.

13. In a cylinder construction having a cylinder member with an end portion having an open end, the improvement of closure-means for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having internal shoulder means and external surface means, said end portion of the cylinder having external shoulder means, and keeper element means having first and 'second abutting surfaces respectively engagin the said shoulder means to secure the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder, and engagement means making engagement with both said external surface means and said keeper element means.

14. In a cylinder construction having a cylinder member with an end portion having an open end, the improvement of closure means for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having internal shoulder means, said end portion of the cylinder having external shoulder means, keeper element means having first and second abutting surfaces respectively en ing the said shoulder means to secure the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder, said keeper element means having an outwardly extending portion which is disposed farther away from the cylinder member than said internal shoulder means, and engagement means making enga ement with both said outwardly extending portion and said telescopic portion. Y

15. In a cylinder construction having a cylinder member with an end portion having an open end, the improvement of closure means for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having internal shoulder means and external surface nieans, said end portion of the cylinder having external shoulder means, and keeper element means having substantially a U- shaped cross-section with onebranch thereof having first and second abutting surfaces respectively engaging said shoulder means and with the other branch thereof disposed adjacent said external surface means.

16. In a cylinder construction having a cylinder member with an end portion having an open end, the improvement of closure means for closing the said open end, said improvement comprising a head with a telescopic portion arranged to fit over the end portion of the cylinder, said telescopic portion having internal shoulder means, said end portion of the cylinder having external shoulder means, and keeper element means having first and second abutting surfaces respectively engaging the said shoulder means to secure the telescopic portion to the end portion of the cylinder,

and seal means between the telescopic portion and the end portion of the cylinder, said keeper element means comprising a plurality of individual elements annularly spaced around the cylinder member, and means for securing said elements in said annularly spaced relation, said seal means including non-extrusion means pressing against said side wall and relatively soft material pressing against said non-extrusion means.

GEORGE V. WQODLING. 

